The US Senate has approved a bill to avert a feared shutdown. Both Democrats from President Joe Biden’s party and members of the Republican opposition rallied behind the emergency budget that should prevent government services from running out of money after midnight.
That’s what American media write. After approval by the Senate, the proposal will go to the other chamber of parliament, the House of Representatives. That has to be agreed to later today. After that, President Biden also has to sign the emergency budget, which provides only a short-term solution. The proposal will run until early December.
Even before the vote, it was clear that there was sufficient political support in the Senate to approve the proposal. “I’m glad we’re getting this done,” Democratic party chairman Chuck Schumer said before senators were allowed to vote. “The last thing Americans need right now is for government to grind to a halt.”
shutdown
The vote took place under great time pressure as the current fiscal year ends on Thursday. The Congress, the parliament of the United States, must therefore again authorize government spending. If that fails, the consequences will be serious: salaries can no longer be paid and some government services have to close their doors.
Such political crises are more common in the United States, where conflicts between Democrats and Republicans can paralyze decision-making. The longest shutdown lasted 35 days and took place in 2018 and 2019, when President Donald Trump argued with Congress over money to build a wall on the border with Mexico. Then officials were forced to sell their properties online to pay their bills.
Headache file
While a shutdown appears to have been averted this time, Republicans and Democrats must also come to terms with another recurring headache: raising the debt ceiling. This relates to the maximum amount that the US state is allowed to borrow. If that doesn’t go up, the government is expected to run out of money by October 18.
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source https://pledgetimes.com/us-shutdown-seems-averted-but-no-debt-ceiling-deal/
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